Operator for swinging window sashes



Dec. 17, 1963 A. w. AHLGREN OPERATOR FOR SWINGING WINDOW SASHES Filed March 13, 1962 NYMT MJ a M CRklgr-em AM 1A.; o M

' Qfl'v-romoEY/ United States Patent 3,114,542 ()PERATOR FOR SWltNGlNG WINDOW SASHES Axel W. Ahlgren, Rockford, Ill., assignor to Amerock Corporation, Rockford, 111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Mar. 13, 1962, Ser. No. 179,443 3 Claims. (Cl. 26810S This invention relates to an operator for opening and closing the sash of a window in which the sash is mounted on the window frame to swing about an axis extending along one edge of the sash. More particularly, the invention has reference to an operator which includes one or more arms pivotally mounted on the frame and connected to the sash by a shoe slidable on an elongated guide, the shoe being carried by the free end of the arm and the guide being mounted along the free edge of the sash.

The general object of the invention is to provide in an operator of the above character a new and improved arrangement of the shoe and the guide to insure that the shoe slides freely on the guide without binding even though there may be some inaccuracies in the construction and mounting of the operator.

A more detailed object is to form the shoe as a tube sliding on a rod which serves as the guide and to arrange the shoe to engage the opposite sides of the rod with line contact so that the shoe is free to turn, cock and shift relative to the rod as it slides along the latter.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a window utilizing the novel operator of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the shoe.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 5-5 in FIG. 1.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is embodied in an operator used to open and close the sash 11 of an awning window. As is well known in the art, the sash is pivotally mounted on the frame 12 of the window to swing about a horizontal axis extending along the upper edge of the sash, the lower edge being moved away from the sill 13 of the frame to open the window.

The operator 10 includes an elongated arm 14 whose inner end portion is pivotally connected to the casing 15 of the operator to permit the arm to swing about an upright axis. The casing is fastened to the sill 13 and the arm is turned about its axis by a crank 16 through suitable gearing (not shown) disposed within the casing. Preferably, two such arms are employed and are geared together to swing in unison but in opposite directions. In the closed position, the arms lie alongside the bottom rail 17 of the sash as shown in full in FIG. 1 and, when the sash is fully open, the arms are substantially perpendicular to the rail as illustrated in broken lines.

To connect the arms 14 to the sash 11, a shoe 18 is pivotally mounted on the outer end of each arm and slides along an elongated guide 19' secured to the bottom rail 17. Each shoe pivots about a post 21} (FIGS. 2 and 3) upstanding from the associated arm and projecting through a hole 21 in a flange 22 on the shoe. A slide 23 on the flange projects in under a head on the post to hold the shoe on the post while permitting the shoe to pivot. The slide may be retracted to disconnect the shoe and the arm when desired.

In accordance with the present invention, the shoes 18 and the guide 19 are constructed in a novel manner to insure that the shoes slide freely as the window is opened and closed even though there may be slight inaccuracies in the construction and mounting of the guide and the operator 10. Moreover, the shoes are free to turn slightly as the sash 11 swings in and out and such turning does not interfere with the easy sliding of the shoes.

To these ends, the guide 19 is in the form of an elongated rod spaced from and extending along the sash rail 17 and the shoes 18 include a tubular portion 24 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4) with the rod 19 received in the bores 25 of the shoes. The inner and outer sides of the rod are arcuate and are concentric with the longitudinal axis of the rod and the side walls 26 of the bore 25 of each shoe are fiat and parallel and are spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the diameter of the rod to engage the latter in continuous line contact. The other walls 27 of the bore are spaced apart a distance greater than the rod diameter to permit the shoe to shift up and down relative to the rod while engaging the rod only at the side walls 26.

In the present instance, the rod 19 is circular in cross section and the end portions 28 are bent in to hold the body of the rod away from the sash rail 17. These end portions may be flattened to lie against the rail and secured to the latter by screws 29. Preferably, the rod is made in two halves with the free ends projecting into a cylindrical sleeve 30 (see FIG. 5) which is integral with a bracket 31 secured to the center of the rail 17. With this arrangement, the shoes 18 may be assembled on the rod at the time of installation rather than when the operator is manufactured.

Herein, the tubular portion 24 of each shoe 18 and the associated flange 22 are formed integrally as a single molded piece of plastic such as nylon. The flange projects inwardly from the bottom half of the tube 24 as shown most clearly in FIG. 4 and the bore 25 is elongated in a direction perpendicular to the flange. The side walls 26 extend above and below the center of the bore a distance at least suflicient to engage the opposite sides of the rod 19 even when the latter is adjacent one end or the other of the bore as illustrated in broken lines (FIG. 4). The top and bottom walls 27 are arcuate but have a greater curvature than the rod so that, if the rod should engage one of these walls, there will be essentially only line contact with that wall.

It will be observed that the shoe 18 may turn about and slide freely on the rod 19 even though the shoe cocks or shifts up or down relative to the rod due to minor inaccuracies in the manufacture and mounting of the operator. As a result, there is little danger of the shoe binding as the arms 14 are swung to open and close the sash 11. The latter, however, is firmly held against rattling because the side walls 26 continuously engage the sides of the rod 19 and prevent relative movement of the rod and the shoe in the direction in which the sash opens.

I claim as my invention:

1. "In an operator for a swinging type Window, the combination of, an elongated actuator arm adapted to be supported on a window frame for swinging about a fixed axis outwardly through the window opening from a closed position alongside the window sash to an open substantially perpendicular position, an elongated cylindrical guide rod adapted to be secured to and spaced from the window sash to lie alongside said arm in said closed position, a tubular shoe telescoped on said rod to slide along and also to turn on said rod, a pivot paralleling said arm axis and connecting said shoe to the free end of said arm, opposite sides in the bore of said shoe being hat and parallel and spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the diameter of said rod for continuous contact with the side surfaces of said rod along lines paralleling the rod axis but shiftable around such surfaces during turning of the shoe around the rod, and the sides of said bore between the edges of said flat surfaces being areuate with a greater curvature than said rod and spaced from said rod to allow bodily shifting or tilting of the shoe radially of said rod and parallel to said flat surfaces.

2. In an operator for a swinging type window, the com bination of, an elongated actuator anm adapted to be supported on a window frame for swinging about a fixed axis outwardly through the window opening from a closed position alongside the window sash to an open substantially perpendicular position, an elongated cylindrical guide rod adapted to be secured to and spaced from the window sash to lie alongside said arm in said closed position, a tubular shoe telescoped on said rod to slide along and also to turn on said rod, a pivot paralleling said arm axis and connecting said shoe to the free end of said arm, opposite sides in the bore of said shoe being flat and parallel and spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the diameter of said rod for continuous contact with the side surfaces of said rod along lines paralleling the rod axis but shiftable around such surfaces during turning of the shoe around the rod, and the sides of said bore between the edges of said fiat surfaces being spaced from said rod to allow bodily shifting or tilting of the shoe radially of said rod and parallel to said flat surfaces. 3. In an operator for a swinging type window, the combination of, an elongated actuator arm adapted to be supported on .a window frame for swinging about a fixed axis outwardly through the window opening from a closed position alongside the window sash to an open substantially perpendicular position, an elongated guide rod adapted to 'be secured to and spaced from the window sash to lie alongside said arm in said closed position, said rod having oppositely facing arcuate side surfaces concentric with the axis of the rod and successively spaced from said sash, a tubular shoe telescoped on said rod to slide along and also to turn on said rod, a pivot paralleling said arm axis and connecting said shoe to the free end of said arm, opposite sides in the bore of said shoe being fiat and parallel and spaced for continuous contact with the respective arcuate rod surfaces along lines paralleling the rod axis but shiftable around such surfaces during turning of the shoe around the rod, and the sides of said bore between the edges of said flat surfaces being spaced from said rod to allow bodily shifting or tilting of the shoe radially of said rod and parallel to said fiat surfaces References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,777,687 Jewett et a1. Jan. 15, 1957 

1. IN AN OPERATOR FOR A SWINGING TYPE WINDOW, THE COMBINATION OF, AN ELONGATED ACTUATOR ARM ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED ON A WINDOW FRAME FOR SWINGING ABOUT A FIXED AXIS OUTWARDLY THROUGH THE WINDOW OPENING FROM A CLOSED POSITION ALONGSIDE THE WINDOW SASH TO AN OPEN SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULAR POSITION, AN ELONGATED CYLINDRICAL GUIDE ROD ADAPTED TO BE SECURED TO AND SPACED FROM THE WINDOW SASH TO LIE ALONGSIDE SAID ARM IN SAID CLOSED POSITION, A TUBULAR SHOE TELESCOPED ON SAID ROD TO SLIDE ALONG AND ALSO TO TURN ON SAID ROD, A PIVOT PARALLELING SAID ARM AXIS AND CONNECTING SAID SHOE TO THE FREE END OF SAID ARM, OPPOSITE SIDES IN THE BORE OF SAID SHOE BEING FLAT AND PARALLEL AND SPACED APART A DISTANCE SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF SAID ROD FOR CONTINUOUS CONTACT WITH THE SIDE SURFACES OF SAID ROD ALONG LINES PARALLELING THE ROD AXIS BUT SHIFTABLE AROUND SUCH SURFACES DURING TURNING OF THE SHOE AROUND THE ROD, AND THE SIDES OF SAID BORE BETWEEN THE EDGES OF SAID FLAT SURFACES BEING ARCUATE WITH A GREATER CURVATURE THAN SAID ROD AND SPACED FROM SAID ROD TO ALLOW BODILY SHIFTING OR TILTING OF THE SHOE RADIALLY OF SAID ROD AND PARALLEL TO SAID FLAT SURFACES. 